Stallingborough anti-aircraft Battery, Lincs, February 2019

1. The History
The former Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun site is off Keelby Road, Little London near Stallingborough. It is one of only six surviving 5.25-inch HAA gun sites known nationally. The Battery was originally built as part of the Humber estuary's coastal defence system. In February 1916 the coastal battery was equipped with two 6-inch breech-loading Mk VII guns. The guns were removed in 1919 and the site abandoned in 1926. The battery was then re-used during World War II. In June 1940 it was equipped with four 3.-inch calibre guns set in concrete emplacements. In April 1944, construction was underway for four new, much larger and more complex emplacements for 5.25-inch calibre guns which could fire up to altitudes of 43,000 feet. These were operational by 2nd November 1944. After the end of the war, Stallingborough was selected for retention as a Battery Headquarters. It was finally decommissioned around the Spring of 1955 when the use of artillery for anti-aircraft defence was finally abandoned.

Part of the site was reused from 1961 when a Royal Observer Corps (ROC) nuclear fallout monitoring post was built and opened at the site. Sometime between 1976 and 1984, the concrete emplacements and their associated buildings were returned to agricultural use.

The site retains its complete functional layout including all four-gun emplacements and their engine houses, the command post and the guardhouse/gun store and generator house. It is a reminder of the considerable investment made to counter bombing raids by the Luftwaffe.

2. The Explore
This place came up during research into WWII locations around the Humber. Ití looked great so put it on my list. After the hour or so drive over I parked off the road and walked along a footpath. The coppice the battery is in is a stoneís throw from the footpath. So easy access and had the place to myself for a very relaxed hourís exploring. One of the nice things about this site was that it was untouched by the idiots so no crap graf etc. Must be a hard place to visit in the summer when the foliage is at its peak.

3. The Pictures

The first emplacement I looked round. Nature is now reclaiming the site:

Blimey that's a good one!
Kinda rubbish up here because a lot has been removed or buried beyond reach.
I'm wondering what else could lie there if the silt was cleared out.
Awesome location and not impossible for me to get to - added to my never ending list!

Blimey that's a good one!
Kinda rubbish up here because a lot has been removed or buried beyond reach.
I'm wondering what else could lie there if the silt was cleared out.
Awesome location and not impossible for me to get to - added to my never ending list!

Do it mate. Loads of other stuff round here too. Highest proportion of surviving Anti-aircraft batteries along the Number than anywhere in the UK with the exception of Plymouth...

These places survive because they were originally WW1 Coastal Defence Batteries - hence very solid and much thicker construction than WW2 AA Battery sites. Mind you; they really were something in the Autumn of '59 - the start of my motorcycling days - all the iron work and corrugated iron was still in place and nature had not taken over. My father was in command of the team that surveyed all the fortifications on the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire sides of the Humber for possible reuse by the ROC.

About us

DerelictPlaces is a forum for people with an interest in the history and documentation of disused, derelict and abandoned buildings to come together and share their experiences, photography and historical findings. Our military, industrial and historical heritage is fast disappearing under the pressure of regeneration, the need for new housing, and often through simple neglect; Our aim is to document these places before they disappear entirely.